“Very good…” – ex-Man United player tells Erik ten Hag to sign defender despite cap issue

Former Manchester United forward Louis Saha has stated that French defender Jean-Clair Todibo would ‘suit’ Erik ten Hag’s style at Old Trafford.

United have had several issues with their backline this term. Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane – who formed a strong partnership last term – have both suffered with injuries so far this term.

Harry Maguire has played more games due to impressing, but many of those have bene alongside 35-year-old Jonny Evans. It was clear that The Reds needed another central defender last summer and now it’s blatantly obvious.

Fabrizio Romano has reported that United are scouting four different defenders for either a January or summer move, with one of those being Jean-Clair Todibo of Nice.

The 23-year-old Frenchman is someone who Louis Saha believes could slot into Ten Hag’s way of playing very well.

Todibo does only have one appearance for his country, but Saha suggests he is unlucky to be within an extremely talented group of players.

“He’s a very good defender,” said Saha. “He’s very unlucky because currently there’s a golden generation of French defenders and that’s why he doesn’t have many caps for the national team.

“He’s very good on the ball, he’s calm and he would very much suit Manchester United’s style of play.”

Speaking on the current United defenders, Saha is glad to see the likes of Maguire and Victor Lindelof contributing in the final third, but holds concerns about the lack of end product from those in the frontline.

“There’s a need in this Manchester United team for goals to come from their defence and that’s why I was so happy to see Victor Lindelöf score against Luton on Saturday and to see Harry Maguire scoring in the Champions League against Copenhagen,” he added.

“The ten outfield players all have to be dangerous and capable of scoring goals and at this moment, Manchester United’s defenders are scoring more than their forwards.”

Marcus Rashford is the only forward player to score in the Premier League this season, and he’s only netted once. Rasmus Hojlund has scored five times in the Champions League.